Help me understand something...

Radical_Johnny

One thing that sparks my curiosity (and please, if you have a link to a video/article that explains this, go ahead and drop a link for me!) is the difference in influence that players will have on node/server depending on when they join Ashes of Creation. Wont a player that starts the game at launch have much more influence on a node compared to a player that starts 6 months later? In fact, with nodes being the lifeblood of AoC (per se), what will the content or gameplay be like for a player joining a bit late? Just sparking conversation here, y'all

Azryil

A player that has been playing longer will have more overall contribution to a node, but that doesn't lessen the contributions of someone that starts 6 months down the road, they're still working toward the same goal for the node. And if there does end up being some advantage beyond in node housing, that 6 month advantage can be completely wiped away if the node get's sieged and destroyed.

Radical_Johnny

arzosah wrote: »

A player that has been playing longer will have more overall contribution to a node, but that doesn't lessen the contributions of someone that starts 6 months down the road, they're still working toward the same goal for the node. And if there does end up being some advantage beyond in node housing, that 6 month advantage can be completely wiped away if the node get's sieged and destroyed.

So I guess what I am trying to understand (and we probably just don't have enough information about the whole logistics of how nodes work) is if a player joins a server 6 months after launch, and there are already Metropolis nodes developed, what will be their experience be like? Are they going to just take part as a citizen of a metropolis and miss out on the whole experience of building it up? And at that point, will they just have to fall into place with what is already happening in the world and not be able to dictate sieges or node takeovers or what have you. I would hate to see new players join later on after release and not get to experience the whole game as is intended, that's all.

Azathoth

You'll only have more influence if that's the game you play. I will likely never enter into Node politics, except for maybe voting, so even I start day one I would have a bigger contribution, but less influence than a political player that starts a year later.

Also, there is no count down on when a node 'pops' to it's next level. Which means if someone who has played for a year and has been farming a node for a new house, and is gone when it pops, someone that has played barely long enough to afford a home (and maybe never visited the node before) could buy the house.

I don't think Ashes will be as black and white on time invested as others may be.

grisu

How would they have more influence? They are still only one player in a mass contributing the exp of one person to a node. They might have an advantage of getting into administrative positions since they have the money to buy into it that you dont(economic goverment) the equipment to participate in the gladiatorial battle (military goverment) and so on, they might be in an established guild, raid, have access to better crafting since they know people( and have money :kappa), but that's just a temporary catch up like we are used too.
I'm just wondering what you mean with more influence.

Nodes will rise and most likely fall, wether duo to ressource depletion, wars, or whatever factor might drive them away, there will always be a fresh nodestart somewhere at some point.

You will never experience the opening of AQ40, the complet wilderness, you will never experience the rise of the very first metropolis node, but there will be a first node for you, a first worldboss for you, a first major questline for you.
That's the appeal for me, it will always be different. It's possible, I suppose, to get to experience the initial launch experience since people moved far away from the starting portals and there is an influx of new gamers. So it's all wilderness again around the portal and the next city wont impose on the creation of the natural first camps and such.
Now that I brought it up, this scenario does make me wonder. How will quest generation work for new players joining in a scenario like that (meaning not enough players to create new camps cause you are the only one that took that one portal while everyone else went to the other ones). You can only put so much stuff in the immediate vicinity, at some point you outgrow it but if the next outpost is far off, will it still somehow link together to at least guide you to it? hmmm

mozsta69

Really great question

This is how I view it, first at a high level then a more philosophical level lol
1) AOC wants to be a dynamic world, ever changing , always in flux. Therefore as you have correctly observed every players experience at certain points in time will absolutely be different....but different doesnt mean missing out on what the game has to offer. The game offers change!! We need embrace this. If I knew i was joining a TRULY living and breathing world it would excite me way more than the usual here is your intro in village X go to zone Y next etc....i would be excited to feel im a small powerless citizen in this sprawling city. If i had great motivation i would plan as to how i could grow my influence.

A Truly dynamic world is real time . This has a draw back that if your not playing the game, the world doesn't stop changing...who know you could be the mayor of a town, not log in for months come back and your butt naked in front of a camp fire lol. (you know what i mean)

2) From a mentality perspective AOC gives options again. Lets say you log on after a year , but your a motivated individual who wants to be mayor one day, you would plot and plan and negotiate your way to the top.
If your like me and your like 'whatever dude where is the beach' youd do your thing in the big cities , shopping , drinking , voting then be on your merry way to whatever the game has to offer.

Again these options are great. Great question though i could waffle on for another three pages!!!!

grisu

@Simus Okay I took so long to write this I didn't se your comment pop up before I posted mine, so from what I see now you know next to nothing about nodes? So here you go with the Know your nodes series from Intrepid Studios (part 3 is yet to come)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMvubbX-SHg[/YT]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44HChA1Kkfk[/YT]

Might as well post their blog. Basic node overview , advancement and destruction , scientific nodetype

Radical_Johnny

@Grisu I am familiar with Nodes and how they work, I think my original post is coming from the angle that we as a community are not equipped yet with all the information on how exactly nodes work, and I am really just theorizing on possible outcomes or roadblocks that may come about. After all, what else can we do but theorize? All we have are words and pretty pictures at this point (that is not meant as a slight), and until we see actual functionality of the nodes themselves, there are many possibilities for what will happen within Verra... Consider me a classic pot stirrer

But in response to your first comment, you make valid points, and similar to what @Mozsta69 said, the dynamic world is intriguing to me as players can have a wide spectrum of different experiences, I just hope that character development doesn't rely too much on node development for players that might join late. Do we know if players are given XP bonuses when a node develops, or is the node considered it's own entity that develops as independently? In layman's terms, if player A is within ZOI when a node "levels up", will they in turn receive some kind of XP bonus as well, or reward?

grisu

I see them as a passiv leveling partner, you "share" your exp with the node so it can advance to the next level -> so you have access to additional services. The services are the reward that everyone gets access too, I duno why you think new players would be excluded of those.

I duno I think we know pretty much everything there is to know about nodes aside from edgecases.

Damokles

@Grisu
The word you are looking for is parasite or symbiotic relationship
Both fit remarcably well.

grisu

Or civilization?

Damokles

Grisu wrote: »

Or civilization?

Grisu wrote: »

I see them as a passiv leveling partner, you "share" your exp with the node so it can advance to the next level

The exp sharing is passive and you dont have an active part in the sharing. So it is more like a symbiotic/parasitic relationship, you give exp to the node and the node in turn gives you a place to live. Civilisation is also fitting of course, but i find symbiotic a finer word

ShadowCrept

@Grisu I think we’re missing about 75% info on nodes in my opinion there is so much more to learn that we can’t evrn ask yet, bc there is prob system in place that they haven’t mentioned yet

Karthos

Shadowcrept wrote: »

@Grisu I think we’re missing about 75% info on nodes in my opinion there is so much more to learn that we can’t evrn ask yet, bc there is prob system in place that they haven’t mentioned yet

Yup.

Jahlon

Simus wrote: »

One thing that sparks my curiosity (and please, if you have a link to a video/article that explains this, go ahead and drop a link for me!) is the difference in influence that players will have on node/server depending on when they join Ashes of Creation. Wont a player that starts the game at launch have much more influence on a node compared to a player that starts 6 months later? In fact, with nodes being the lifeblood of AoC (per se), what will the content or gameplay be like for a player joining a bit late? Just sparking conversation here, y'all

For all your Node Reference questions head over here: https://www.paradoxgaming.net/aocnodes I have a series of videos there to help as well.

But, as far as your question, who will have more influence, yes established players will have more influence, but that doesn't mean a late comer is locked out.

Each type of node has different elections, so it is possible for a late comers to rise up and carve out a place of power.

Plus remember, nodes will be rising and falling all the time, so even if you are late to the game, the node you are working in may be brand new.

Radical_Johnny

Shadowcrept wrote: »

@Grisu I think we’re missing about 75% info on nodes in my opinion there is so much more to learn that we can’t evrn ask yet, bc there is prob system in place that they haven’t mentioned yet

I was gonna say.... I don’t think we have nearly the full amount of node information..

ShadowCrept

*Shameless Plugs*

grisu

<shrug> Every guess is as good as the next. I don't think that there is much more to discover conceptwise. Nodes is the one topic they delved into in depth over the past 16months.

Volgaire

Obviously people who come later won't have the same experience as the first players but that's in line with the game lore (we come to rebuild Verra) if new players want to build from scratch they need to settle somewhere with enough people and contribute to the node, eventually they can siege a metropolis and if they suceed build their own.